Daniel and Stacy Tabb

Daniel and Stacy share a diverse artistic history that led to the ideation and creation of their business, Boondock Studios. They utilize their combined background in painting, drawing, sculpting, leather-making, and lapidary (engraving stones and gems) to create beautiful and practical pieces of art. Following an extended stay in the hospital, Dan was encouraged to find something to maintain flexibility in his hands. His father had taught him leather-making as a kid, so he picked up his old tools and got to work. What once served as a therapeutic practice turned into a passion and the two have since turned their passions into their profession.

What is your business? We are makers of practical art. We create leather and handwoven goods and often incorporate our lapidary work into both. We like to call these our “post-apocalyptic life skills.”

Who are your clients? With prices ranging from $15 to more than $1000, everyone we meet is a potential customer. We specialize in one-of-a-kind, hard to define, custom pieces that are sought after by our clients.

What inspired you to become an entrepreneur? We have a unique skill set inspired by a long family tradition that we would like to see passed along. The arts are disappearing from our schools, so we want to do all that we can to preserve them.

What are your short term goals? Find a retail space which will enable us to increase production and start leather and weaving classes for both adults and kids.

What would you like to see in Lakeland? We would love to see a high-end, innovative place for our workshop, so we’re really looking forward to the new Maker Space coming to Catapult 2.0!

Why Lakeland? Lakeland has a flourishing art scene and is similar in community to places like Austin, TX. It’s such an exciting time to live here!

How has Catapult helped you? Connection! We’ve met so many more Lakelanders since joining Catapult.